Ann-Renee Desbiens stopped all 26 shots she faced for Montreal's 1-0 shutout win in Quebec City, while Emerance Maschmeyer stopped 25 of 26 in what turned out to be a duel between Canadian national team goalies.
Ann-Renee Desbiens turned aside 26 shots for a 1-0 shutout win in what turned out to be a goaltending duel against her Team Canada counterpart Emerance Maschmeyer. Desbiens was named first star in front of 14,624 fans at Centre Vidéotron in Quebec City on the PWHL Takeover Tour.
Rookie Nicole Gosling made her first career PWHL goal count scoring the winner midway through the second period.
“I knew that [a goal] was going to come eventually," said Gosling. "Obviously, you'd like for it to come as soon as possible, but it's something that I've been striving for since the first game. I'm still adjusting to the game and the way it's played here, so I'm just happy now to finally get that off my back.”
Goaltending Was The Story
While another large crowd in Quebec City, and Gosling's first career goal could have stolen the show, it was the goaltending battle between Desbiens and Maschmeyer that wrote the story.
“From a coach's standpoint, it felt like nothing was getting by her tonight," said Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie about Desbiens' performance. "She felt very calm and composed. She is very calm under pressure, and even in the moments like the five-minute penalty and the six on five at the end, I felt like nothing was going to go past that red line. I love seeing a game like that for Ann, because on a lot of nights, she produces those types of performances but maybe doesn't get that shutout result that she deserves. And so, I was really happy for her, and her teammates were happy for her.”
At the other end of the ice, Maschmeyer, who was named alongside Desbiens this week to Canada's Olympic roster. She acknowledged her national team partner, and her familiarity with being on the ice with or against Desbiens.
“We've faced each other many times throughout our career, and we've played alongside each other many times as well," said Maschmeyer. "She's an incredible goalie, it's pretty obvious. But I think we have some pretty good battles out there, and it's always a lot of fun playing against her.”
Vancouver has a week off before making one more stop on its six-game road trip when they visit Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on Saturday. Meanwhile, Montréal returns home to face Ottawa on Tuesday.